United We Stand
by SunagakureGirl
Summary: Lessons of life, love, danger and friendship unravel themselves in this story of an ANBU team from the sand as they struggle to see through the eyes of a ninja while growing up and falling in love.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** The naruto world and it's characters are total property of Masashi Kishimoto. Though my ANBU Team 13 from Suna are mine, the idea of ANBU is Kishimoto's as well. Thank you.

It was yet another sunny day in the Village Hidden in the Sand. Children played in the streets while their parents shopped in the market, young and old ninja alike trained to hone their skills, and the Kazekage walked the streets to make his morning rounds. It was indeed a peaceful sight to behold; three pairs of eyes taking it all in, laughter in their voices as they joked around with each other.

To anyone that did not know them personally, they were just three young adults of Suna, but to those that did know them, they were some of the most elite Jounin of the village and made up ANBU team 13. Sitting on the far left was Ayame Mushito, she was the medical expert of the group. She had a very perky attitude, though she was quick to anger. She was usually seen with her long brown hair hanging down and her bangs hanging slightly over her blue eyes. Today, since it was the teams day off, she wore a dark green shirt with the Sunagakure symbol on the front and black cargo pants, along with her black sandals; her headband was worn around her neck. She smiled sweetly as she elbowed the boy that sat between her and the other girl.

"Aw c'mon, Kuro! You and I both know we need at least one day off from our duties. I mean look at the missions we've had to do lately!"

"I know, I know, but I would rather be serving Kazekage. You know he relies on our team a lot for special missions." He said in his determined voice.

Kuro was the tracker of the team and always wanted to work or train. He had the personality of a dog you might say; up for anything and loyal until the end. He was also Ayame's fiancé, which was questionable by ANBU standards, but the both of them didn't really care about that. Today Kuro was wearing his black cargo pants without his shirt on, revealing the scars on his chest and stomach. He was always one to like to show off his muscles, even if he was engaged. Kuro's hair was short, shaggy and had the tips dyed blue because it was his favorite color; like his eyes. He looked over at the girl sitting on his other side. Punching her in the arm in what they both recognized as a friendly manner, he looked at her scarred face as she looked at him with a smile playing on her lips.

"What's up, Tsukiko? You've been out of it all day!"

Tsukiko tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shook her head, her eyes cast down.

"Meh, it's nothing really. Just kinda bored sitting up here with nothing to do. I'd go training, but the grounds are secured for the genin to use for the day."

Tsukiko was the leader of the team as well as the one to make the plans of attack when they were on a mission. She was always happy when she was with her team, but she acted stoic and strict when she was around the other ninja of the village. She was wearing her black cargo pants, a maroon shirt with the kanji symbol for "moon" on the back, black sandals, and her headband on her head. She watched as Kuro stood up and stretched, his muscles flexing.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna go for a run. Day off or not, we gotta stay in shape."

Tsukiko and Ayame followed suite and stood, both chucking as they jumped to the ground below and started running, leaving Kuro behind on the roof.

"Who made you leader? It wasn't Tsuki!"

"Yeah! Catch us if you can oh great one!"

Kuro scratched the back of his head and laughed. They always did that to him. Shrugging it off, he jumped to the ground and sprinted after them. He knew he could catch them, he always did. Weaving through the back alleys, Kuro took every shortcut he knew in the village. He raced by the local market, the few restaraunts they had and finally, to the small oasis they had outside the village, knowing that was where the two girls were going to be. What met his eyes made him laugh to himself as he walked up beind Ayame. There was Kankuro with Tsukiko as his puppet, making her dance a funny jig, Temari jumped down from a nearby tree and cuffed him on the back of the head, speaking in a strict voice, though a smirk played on her lips.

"Kankuro, let Tsuki be. It's not fair if you use her as a puppet without her being asked first. Hahah. Though it it pretty hilarious."

Kankuro let his chakra strings release their hold of Tsuki and gently hugged her from behind, placing his chin on her shoulder with a smile. He and Tsuki had been friends since childhood and served a small amount of time together in the puppet brigades, which Tsuki left because of her team. Even though she left, Tsuki still trained with puppets every once in a while with Kankuros help. Kankuro enjoyed Tsukiko's company and, even though she did not realize it no matter how obvious he was, the puppet master had a major crush on her. Temari had been trying to get her brother to ask her on a date, but he always found an excuse not to. With a sly smile creasing his painted face, Kankuro began to poke Tsuki's tickelish spots on her ribs, causing her to jump in his embrace.

"Kankuro! Hahahaah. Stop it, I mean it. PLEASE!"

Ayame watched as Kankuro released Tsuki and had a defeated look on his face as she joined her team. She could tell that he did really care about her and that it might even be love considering the way he seemed to sadden with every step she took away from him. Ayame whispered into Temari's ear, making sure Tsukiko did not hear her.

"Tem, we have to do something about those two. Tsuki is so oblivious and Kankuro is afraid of getting hurt. What should we do?"

Temari leaned over and whispered back to Ayame, watching Kuro and Kankuro as they started to do some light taijutsu sparring. "Well, tomorrow is Kankuro's birthday. He's turning 21, you know. You're invited of course and Tsuki definatley has to come. Here's what we'll do..."

Tsukiko looked at the two whispering girls and knew that something was going to happen, but she didn't even guess that it concerned her and the painted face of Kankuro.


	2. Chapter 2: At home

It was late in the evening and Team 13 had parted ways to go home. They had to start work early in the morning and had to get some sleep. Kuro and Ayame watched as Tsuki went inside her apartment and continued to walk around the village, taking refuge in their own apartment after a couple of hours. They had been in love since the day they met at the academy and nobody could ever change that about them. They were a unique pair; both battle hardened like driftwood on water, though as gentle as a sea breeze on a sunny afternoon when they were around each other; or Tsuki for that matter.

Kuro took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as Ayame started to make him some dinner. His eyes couldn't help moving to observe her curves, analyzing every movement her hips made as she walked around the kitchen. Ayame turned around to see him zoned out and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Snap out of it, Kuro. You gonna eat or what?"

Kuro blinked his eyes as his fantasy was interrupted, a smile playing his lips as he gazed into his fiancé's blue eyes. Pulling her onto his lap, Kuro kissed her lips, eyeing her with lust.

"It depends on what I'm eating…."

Ayame rolled her eyes at him, getting up at cuffing the back of his head lightly. All he ever seemed to think about was getting her into bed as much as possible._ Huh, typical!_ She thought as she slammed his plate in front of him, a smirk on her face.

"The only thing you'll be eating tonight is that food in front of you. Now hurry up and eat."

Kuro looked at the plate in front of him while rubbing the back of his head. Though it was meant to be a light tap, Ayame's hit had been harder than expected. Picking up the fork, Kuro began shoveling the food into his mouth. It was good, he had to admit, even though he and Tsuki often teased her about how horrible she was as a cook. It was a joke of course, he would travel miles just to have one of the kunoichi's dishes. Finishing up his food, Kuro pushed his plate away and looked at Ayame with a calculating look.

"So what were you and Temari talking about when me and Kankuro were sparring?"

A smile crossed Ayame's face as she looked out the window at the starry sky. The plan she and Temari had developed would work perfectly. Since it was Kankuro's birthday tomorrow, there would be a party in the evening; when everybody invited would be off duty. Kuro and Ayame were in charge of bringing Tsukiko and Temari would take care of Kankuro. They would initiate a game of 7 minutes in Heaven and the fun would begin. Yes, it was a childish game to be playing as 20-21 year olds, but it was the only thing that would get the two together alone without getting drunk. It just had to work.

"You'll find out tomorrow night, baby. I'm gonna go to bed now."

As she got up and went to the bedroom, Kuro rolled his eyes and followed. _Whatever those girls have planned, Tsuki will not like it if it involves her and a certain puppet master._ he thought to himself as he got into bed, looking at their team 13 picture from when they were genin. Tsuki did not have the scar on her face and she had her original left eye, not the glass one she now had. Kuro smiled, looking down at his own scars on his body, remembering when they had received them.

It was during the Chuunin Exams, and they had been ambushed by two teams at once. Kuro had been severely wounded in the abdomen, while Tsuki and Ayame fought off their opponents while protecting him with their own bodies. Tsuki's eye had been cut out and Ayame had received a bad leg wound, but they did it to protect their teammate, something he will always be thankful for. Rolling over and turning off the light, Kuro embraced Ayame and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Tsukiko sat up on her rooftop, gazing up at the stars. She could not sleep and this was one of her favorite pastimes for such an occasion. Dressed in nothing but her black sweatpants and a white tanktop, Tsuki shivered slightly in the cold night air. Thoughts of earlier that day kept creeping into her mind. Kankuro was her best friend, besides Kuro and Ayame of course, why was she feeling this way about him? Every time she thought about him, every time he held her in a friendly embrace, every time he so much as smile at her, she wanted to be more than just his friend. What bugged her most was that she kept stopping herself from making the move. Why; because she was ANBU. Feelings and emotions might get in the way of a mission, thus jeopardizing her life as well as her team. But then again it was her love towards her teammates that had saved them and their missions so many times. If they were not willing to fight for the ones they cared about, then why fight at all? Tsukiko hung her head low, a single tear falling down her face.

"Why am I so confused?" she whispered to herself.

"Confused about what, Tsuki?"

Tsukiko gasped and looked up to see none other than Kankuro standing next to her. He was not dressed in his usual garb, but had a clean face, black pants on and a black wife beater on. Seeing the single streak of dampness on her face, Kunkuro knelt down next to Tsukiko and wiped it away; concern written on his features.

"Ts…Tsuki?"

Tsukiko could have melted as he touched her face. By reaction, her own hand reached up and touched his, causing her to blush and quickly pull it away, eyes cast down. Kankuro smiled at this and gently lifted her chin so their eyes met. Once again Tsuki almost melted away, his look of sincerity and concern burning into her. Gaining her composure back, she began to try to come up with a good excuse.

"Well…I…um. You see it's just that…um." She babbled.

Kankuro smiled and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, watching as she stiffened. He knew what she wanted to say, he was her best friend after all, he just wanted her to say it herself. Ever since they had met at academy, he had watched her with loving eyes, willing to protect her at any cost. If he had been in the Chuunin Exam when she took it, instead of the year before, he would have been right along side her when her team was jumped. Sitting down next to her, Kankuro gave her a soft nudge with his arm.

"Hey, you can tell me. You know that." He said in a soft voice.

Tsukiko smiled sweetly at him and looked back up at the sky, as if trying to find inspiration there. Taking a deep breath, she looked back down at her hands on her lap. How could she tell him? What would Kazekage Gaara say? What would ANBU say? Another tear streaked down her face, causing her to sob quietly. It was now or never.

"Kankuro, I…I think I'm in love with you. It's just that….I… aw man."

Kankuro grabbed Tsuki's hand in his, pulling her into his lap, like he had done so many times before to comfort her. Kissing the top of her head, Kankuro tried to get her to look at him, though she continued to hide her face, ashamed of her tears. Rolling his eyes and laughing to himself, Kankuro remembered the last time she did the same thing. It was when her older brother, a former member of ANBU, was killed on a mission. She cried, he tried to comfort her like he was doing now, and she refused to let him see her face because she hated it when people saw her cry. Placing his hand under her chin, Kankuro gently forced her to look at him, his brown eyes boring into hers.

"Tsuki…listen to me, okay? I'm in love with you too. I'm sure that whatever comes at us we can overcome as long as we do it together."

Tsuki couldn't take it anymore. Getting up from Kankuro's lap, she walked over to the far side of her roof and pointed over to the Kazekage's house.

"But what about Gaara, and the ANBU? Won't they be fucking pissed if I started seeing you!?! I mean…Oh I don't know!"

Kankuro looked in disbelief as she pulled away from him and began shouting, his own temper rising as he stood up as well, stepping closer to her.

"Fuck ANBU and Fuck Gaara! They can not tell me or you who we can or can't be with. It's like that Uzumaki kid said all those years ago. Why fight if it's not for someone precious to you? You mean the world to me Tsuki! I'd die for you! Doesn't that mean fucking anything to you?"

Tsukiko looked over at Kankuro and smiled, wiping her tears away. Any guy that would be willing to yell at her like that and say those kinds of things about the Kazekage must care about her greatly. She let him walk up to her and hug her closely to his body, her head resting on his chest.

"Tsuki, I'm sorry for yelling at you. It's just…dammit woman you drive me insane sometimes you know that?"

"I'm only getting ba…."

Her words were cut off by Kankuro's lips against hers. Shocked for a few seconds, Tsuki stared wide-eyed at Kankuro. Finally snapping out of it, she closed her eyes and snaked her arms around his neck. As he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers, kissing her nose.

"Tsuki…baby…Just let me talk to Gaara okay? If he's okay with it, then ANBU's okay with it. He IS your boss, right? Plus he's my brother. We'll be fine."

Tsukiko shivered in the night air, causing Kankuro to pull her closer to him. "Let's get you inside." Performing a hand sign, Kankuro transported himself and Tsuki back into her room and gently placed her on the bed. Kissing her lips again, Kankuro was about to leave, but felt something stop his body. Looking at Tsukiko, he smirked at what he saw. There she was, using him as her puppet, like he had done so many times to her.

"And what, may I ask, are you gonna make me do, hmm?"

Tsuki winked at him and made him take off his shirt, causing him to blush slightly. She wasn't going to go any further than that, though he didn't know that. She teased him a little more, using her chakra strings to make him come closer to her. As soon as Kankuro was within arms reach, Tsuki let her chakra strings go and grabbed him into a tight hug.

"Did you really think I was going to go through with that? Haha. You're such a guy!"

Kankuro smiled and kissed her cheek softly, laying down beside her and pulling the covers over both of them. Putting his arm around her waist and pulling her into him, he whispered into her ear.

"No, but I am guessing you want me to stay the night, right?"

"Good guess, but no freaky stuff okay?"

Kankuro chuckled. "Fine, no freaky stuff. At least not until tomorrow."

Tsukiko rolled over and gave him a confused look. "Tomorrow?"

Kankuro stroked her face with his hand, kissing her lips lightly. "Let's just say that my sister and your team have something up their sleeve for my birthday and I'm willing to give them a show."

Taking the hint, Tsukiko smirked. So that's what they were whispering about earlier. Tomorrow would definitely be a day to remember.


	3. Chapter 3

Tsukiko rolled over in her bed and looked at the clock. "_5:00 AM already? Dammit, I don't wanna get up!"_ She thought to herself, rolling back over to snuggle into Kankuro. Looking into his sleeping face, Tsukiko gently kissed his nose and cheeks until he finally opened his eyes. A smile creasing his face, Kankuro placed a hand on his girlfriend's cheek and kissed her lips gently.

"Mmmm…..Morning, beautiful."

Kankuro leaned in again and kissed her more passionately, shifting his body to where he was on top of her. Breaking away from Tsuki's lips, he started to move down to her neck, kissing and biting gently. He had been waiting along time for something like this to happen and he was going to see how far she would let him go. Reaching down, he grabbed the edge of her tank and started to pull it up. Kissing her stomach, the puppet master managed to slide it over her head. Making his way back up to Tsukiko's lips, Kankuro couldn't help admiring her well muscled body.

Tsukiko noticed him staring and smiled, forcing him to kiss her. Lust started to take over her body as she let her hands roam over his chest and down his abs, finally resting on his belt buckle. Both were breathing heavily, and as Tsuki started to tug the belt loose, Kankuro stopped her reluctantly, growling in annoyance at himself.

"Uungh. As much…as I…want to continue…We better stop there, baby."

Tsukiko sighed and pulled her shirt back on, kissing his lips again softly. She knew he was right. They both had to get to work in an hour and Gaara hated it when they were late. Getting up, she went to her dresser and started to get dressed. When she was in nothing but her cargos and her bra, Kankuro was holding her from behind, kissing her neck.

"Kankuro…mmm…I thought you wanted to stop."

He smiled against her skin, biting down hard enough to leave a hickey on her shoulder.

"Nu-uh. I didn't WANT to it's just that you had to get ready and…"

He turned Tsuki around to face him, kissing her lips hungrily while picking her up and setting her on the dresser. Her fingernails raked at his back, causing him to groan a little. If they weren't careful, things would end up getting out of control, which, at the moment, didn't seem to bother them. Kankuro was about to unhook her bra when….BAM. The bedroom door flew open and hit the wall, followed by the voice of a young boy.

"Oh Tsukiiiiiii! Guess who's finally home?"

They owner of the voice walked in and looked at the couple over by the dresser, making a disgusted face.

"Eeeeeew! C'mon, Tsuki! I thought you'd have more taste than to be hooking up with Kankuro-sensei. I mean…. Hiya guys."

Tsuki and Kankuro gave each other embarrassed smiles and quickly go their clothes on. Once dressed, Tsukiko ran over to the boy and pulled him into a tight hug, much to his dismay.

"Daisuke! It feels like it's been forever since I last saw you, little brother."

Of course they were not really brother and sister, though they did adopt each other as such. Tsuki lost her real brother and Daisuke didn't have any family left; it worked out perfectly. Running up to Kankuro, Daisuke bowed respectfully, then gave him a fierce hug. Kankuro had been his sensei a year ago and to his amazement, all of team 25 made it to Chuunin level at age 9. Kankuro often caught himself bragging to Baki about it, but then again, Baki had trained them in academy.

"Hey, squirt. Where's Jet and Grotto?" Kankuro asked his former student.

"Hehe, they're at home with their folks. We just got back from the Land of Waves mission with Baki at 3:00 this morning. Kazekage told me to tell you guys to report to him ASAP. I guess it's a good thing I caught you guys getting nasty or else I would have…mmmmffggh."

Kankuro covered his mouth with one strong hand and shook his own head in bewilderment.

"You talk way too much for your own, good, Daisuke. Sheesh."

Letting go of his student, Kankuro walked over to Tsukiko and kissed her before disappearing. Apparently, he had to go get his usual puppeteer uniform on as well as his signature makeup. Pulling her ANBU mask over her face, Tsuki ruffled Dai's hair before transporting herself to Gaara's office. The young boy followed suit, knowing he was required to be there as well.

When the two arrived, Gaara, looked in their direction and nodded for them to take a seat where they could find one. Tsukiko looked through the holes in her car mast to see the familiar bird and dog masks of her team. Nodding in their direction, they acknowledged they greeting with a small flick of their hands. Other were there as well. Kankuro, Temari, Baki, Daisuke and his team, as well as the head of ANBU, Atsushi. Gaara coughed audibly to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone seems to be accounted for. Let's be…….hn"

Everyone looked in the direction of the Kazekage's gaze and noticed someone had just entered the room that had not been there when he started speaking. Kuro growled in frustration. It was Chinatsu, a special jounin of the village and Kuro's little sister. She was always one to like to make an entrance and was a little bit of a diva. She loved to have the center of attention, especially when Gaara was around. Flipping her silver hair over her shoulder, she took a seat and fluttered her eyes.

"Oh I'm sooo sorry, Kazekage Gaara. Please do continue."

"When I say 6:00AM I mean 6:00AM, Chinatsu. As I was saying, I know that a lot of you are probably wanting to know what this is about so here it is. Today we are all traveling to Konoha. The chuunin exams are going to be held there and we are asked to attend even though our genin will not be attending this year."

Chinatsu raised her hand and when Gaara nodded for her to speak, she jerked her thumb into the direction of Tsukiko and her team. "Why are the ANBU needed for this? Heck, why are WE needed for this?"

There was a slight murmur of agreement until Gaara once again raised his hand for silence. "I was getting to that. ANBU from all our alliances will be attending as well as their village's best chuunin and Jounin. We are under high terror alert come testing day. Why? Because there is a ninja terrorist organization that is striving to eliminate the future of our military strengths. They call themselves 'Jishin'(earthquake)"

The head of ANBU, Atsushi passed Tsukiko, Ayame and Kuro a folder that had the profiles of the known members of the organization. They all looked them over and nodded in understanding. Gaara continued speaking.

"Team 13, you and Atsushi will be working with the other ANBU, but will not be dressing as ANBU while out in the open. When we leave, dress in your jounin gear and cover your tattoos. We must not let people know you are ANBU unless they are working with you directly. Kankuro, Temari, you two will be working with the jounin of the villages. Daisuke, you and Team 25 will be working with the chuunin and genin. Set an example for the genin, you three. You are the youngest chuunin to come out of this village and that is something tat deserves respect. Last but not least, Chinatsu. You will be promoted to working at ANBU level. You will be in Team 13 from now on until your own team becomes ANBU. Kuro, you're in charge of taking care of her and keeping her in line, got it?"

Kuro stood at attention, his face radiating frustration under his mask. "Yes, sir!"

It's not that he did not love his sister, he really did, but her ego tended to get the best of her. She was so obsessed with herself that he didn't understand how she made it to jounin so early, much less ANBU. Heaving a sigh, he mentally slapped himself for thinking of her so harshly.

Gaara dismissed the meeting with a nod, waiting for everyone to leave before giving Kankuro a signal with his hand. Before Tsukiko could join her team, Kankuro held her back with his strings. Turning around, Tsukiko looked at Gaara, knowing exactly what this was about. Gaara had a smirk on his face, so did Temari. Tsuki shrugged her shoulders and asked with confusion in her voice.

"What?"

Gaara walked around his desk and leaned against it.

"Take of your mask, Tsuki." He said calmly.

Tsukiko did as she was bidden and removed her mask, the rosy blush on her cheeks noticeable. Temari walked up to Kankuro and placed an arm around his shoulder's, speaking to Tsukiko with laughter in her voice.

"I went to wake Kan up this morning and he wasn't there. Where could he be I asked? Well he told me and Gaara everything earlier this morning and well… Gaara.?"

The Kazekage's face seemed to be lighting up as his smile widened, something, Tsuki was not used to seeing. He got up and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You make my brother happy, so I'm okay with it. Besides, it's about time you two stated seeing each other."

Tsukiko smiled in relief and glanced at Kankuro who gave her a reassuring smile. Temari released her grib on Kankuro and rushed up to Tsuki and hugged her tightly, giggling.

"We are going to be sisters!"

Confused, Tsukiko looked at Kankuro who was slowly approaching her, something clutched in his fist. Looking at Gaara and Temari, Kankuro's gaze seemed to ask for privacy, which they both granted. As soon as they left, Kankuro got down on one knee and took Tsukiko's hand in his, revealing a small ring box. Opening it with one hand, Kankuro exposed the silver emerald ring.

"Tsukiko Arakida, I have loved you since our days at the academy and I know we just confessed our love for each other, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Baby… will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Tsukiko stood in total shock for a few seconds then, she tackled Kankuro to the floor, kissing him roughly. The impact caused his hood to fall off and hit the ground, though they didn't seem to be worried about that. The kiss was soon interrupted by a loud "Awwww" Looking up, the pair saw that they were being watched by Gaara, Temari, Kuro, Ayame, and Chinatsu. Getting up, they both looked at each other and laughed. Kankuro's makeup was smeared onto both of their faces. Wiping it off her face, Tsukiko kissed Kankuro one more time and went to her team, pulling her mask over her face.

"Let's go, guys. Gotta get ready for the mission."


End file.
